Trump Beats Putin, Erdoğan For Top Anti-Press Prize

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump beat out authoritarian leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan, to capture the top prize in a contest of anti-press attitudes issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday.

CPJ is a non-profit organization made up of experts from across the globe who report on press freedoms in authoritarian countries, conflict zones and democracies.

The watchdog group announced it would recognize world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press in the past year after Trump said on Twitter that he planned to hold a “fake news awards ceremony” on Monday. Trump later tweeted that the “Fake News Awards” will be postponed until Jan. 17.

But CPJ stayed on schedule, releasing their awards on Monday afternoon in five categories: most thin-skinned (Erdoğan); most outrageous use of terror laws against the press (Erdoğan); tightest grip on media (President Xi Jinping, China); biggest backslider in press freedom (State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar); and overall achievement in undermining global press freedom (Trump).

Trump was also named the runner up in the most thin-skinned category.

CPJ wrote in announcing Trump’s overall achievement award: “The United States, with its First Amendment protection for a free press, has long stood as a beacon for independent media around the world. While previous U.S. presidents have each criticized the press to some degree, they have also made public commitments to uphold its essential role in democracy, at home and abroad.”

It added, “Trump, by contrast, has consistently undermined domestic news outlets and declined to publicly raise freedom of the press with repressive leaders such as Xi, Erdoğan, and Sisi.”

Trump has been a strident critic of the American press since he announced his candidacy for president in 2015. He's been especially hard on television networks and major newspapers, repeatedly calling CNN "fake news" and referring to The New York Times as "failing."

Trump repeated his CNN criticism when he visited Poland in July, saying at a press conference in Warsaw: "They have been fake news for a long time." Polish President Andrzej Duda was awarded the runner-up prize for the biggest backslider in press freedom by CPJ on Monday. Poland was previously seen as a "symbol of democracy" as they transitioned from the Soviet Union to EU membership — not least because of their free press, CPJ noted. But under Duda, the Polish government has taken direct control of public media.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose anti-press actions have garnered headlines in recent years, did not score a top prize. He was awarded the runner-up honor in the tightest grip on media, behind President Xi of China.

Photo credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press